Railway gate



R. STRlCKLER ET AL RAILWAY GATE April 24, 1928. 1,666,982

Filed June 24, 1926 Zfimets-Sheet 1 Eel iiiililiiliiliiiiilih.

INv ENTORS April 24, 1928. 1,666,982

R. STRICKLER ET AL RAILWAY GATE Filed June 24. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG-.3.

A-r-roRHeY,

R O m w 9 4 w M 1 m b I... T. mm M V m 4- -l. W WV 7 mm HH 3 u \l .i.+|il.ll.1l H u M 3 .0 o W 0 mm, W I. WM. w H H W M 6 I 5 i Patented Apr. 24, 1928.

UNITED I STATES l susgsnz .PATENT'OFFICE.

ROBERT sTnIOKLE'It- AND JOHN HENRY MOJ'ANNETTQOF WOODSTOCK, 03111310,

- CANADA. V

. RAILWAY GATE;

. Applicationfiled me 24,1926. .Serial 110,118,251.

This invention relates to a railwaygate as described in the present specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form part of the same. 4 The invention consists essentially of the novel features pointed out broadly ands ecifically in the claims for novelty followlng a description containing an explanation in detail of. an acceptable formof the inven; tion. 7 y

The number of accidents occurring at rail way crossings is, as is wellknown, increasing constantly, the toll of human life and the material loss mounting every year. --Various. safety means such as gates signals, etc. are used With a varying amount of success. Signals Warn the motorist-,.but he will quite often not heed it, believing that he can cross the railway track safely before the approaching train has time to reach. the

crossing; it is common knowledge how thisrace between the automobile and the train ften ends. Grates of the well known types are a more-positive means of preventing the motorist from taking a chance, but cannot be "used extensively owing to the cost: incurred inhavingakeeper to open it upon theapproach of atrain; and gates which areloWered and raisedautomatically are not safe, accidents happening often owing to a gate lowering upon the car-andrtherefore stalling it when partly across the track.

The Objects of this invention, therefore, are to provide a Very eflicient and. safe gate which will serve as a barrier against reckless dllVGI'SyWllllG eliminating the danger of an. automobile becoming caught by a gate suddenly lowering upon it; to builda gate that will be automatic, reducing the cost of its operation and thereforemakingthe gate economically possible of use over an appreciable mileage of a railway;,and gene erally to supply a reliable and dependable safety appliance capable of accomplishing the aforesaid purposes. 7 p i Inthe drawings,- Figure 1] is a diagrammatic plan View illustrating the operation ofthe gates. Figure2 is a diagram showingithe system of Wiring. I I

a clutch mechanism 23;

circular bar's. hinged to the-ban58 e62, i 85 idly carrying the weight 63 and pivotalhy carrying the friction fiber'block 6&1. ,The free end of each of the bars6l isprovided with a spring 61' attached to the other bar Figure- 3fis an 'ele'vational front View of the device, showing the" gate bar and the casing" broken off.

4 is a bottom planvieW ofthe Figure 7 F igure 51s a side elevation View of 1g- Referring to the drawings,"10 designates railway; tracks, '11 the pavement of afhigh- Way or, ro ad crossing the tracks,'12 an autoo mobile, and'1'3 thefgates, 1 s

l6i's' a back plate mounting the mecha;

nis'm operating the gate; it is suitably sup the'back plate and havingthe vertically 'ar- 7 ranged shaft 19. QO'is a shaft vertical alignment with the shaft'19 and journalled in suitableb'earing's 21 and 22 whichare ,secured to the-back plate. 23 is a suitable clutch connecting the'shaft 19 withjthe shaft 2,0,; andjit is so, designed that 19 can-rotate I 20 whilst- 20 cannotirotate 19. Figures 4 show"the construction of this clutch. 56 is a'round'casingorigidl secured to the lower. endiof the shaft'j2tlhy means of the so cap screwi57Q 58 is a fla'tornetalb'ar having 1 thehub 59 adapted to fit uponthe upper end of the shaft '19, to which it is [secured by means of the cap screw 60. 61 are twosemi- 61 at 6 5 and tensioned to normally hold the D0 friction blocks 64 clear of the leasing 56. As the shaft- :19 isrot'ated, the bars-61 will be forcedoutwardly under the action of the weights 63 7 until the friction blocks engage the casing 56, causing the casing .to rotate a5 with the shaft 19, 24 is a short shaft journalled inithefbearin'g- 2 2 and the bearing' 25,

and it is arrangediii/vertical alignment #with the shaft 20. "The shaft '20 rigidly*car-' I ries a gear 27 andthe shaft 24 rigidly car-- ries the gear 26. 30 is the gate bar having the hinges 31 which fit upon the shaft 24, and 29 are set screws or other suitable devices for adjustably securing the bar upon the shaft. The shaft 24 also rigidly carrles the arm 33, and adjustable stops 34 and 34 are provided in the path of the arm 33 for limiting the angular displacement of the gate bar.

35 is a long shaft rotating in bearings 36 and 37 secured to the back plate 16 and rigidly mount-ing the gear 38 which meshes with the gear 26; the shaft 35 also rigidly mounts the drum 40. '41 is a disc rigidly mounted upon the shaft 35 and carrying therewith a suitable friction pad 42. 43 is a gear loosely mounted upon the shaft 35 and meshing with the gear 27 the gear 43 is spring-held against the friction pad 42 bymeans of the compressed spring 44 which bears at. its bottom end upon the cap 45 which is adjusted by turning the nut 46 on thethreaded portion 47 of the shaft 35. 1 50 is a weight sliding on the rod 41' which is secured at its endsto suitable brackets fixed to the back plate 16' 43 is a cable secured 'to the weight at one end andwound around the drum 40, the cable turning on the pulley 45 and the roller 46. 47 is a spring encircling the rod41 for gradually destroy ing the momentum of the gate and the reciprocating parts of the mechanism before the arm 33 is swung to bear against the limiting stop.

The gate bar 30 is preferably balanced on each side of the hinge point by means of the counter weight 40 so as to reduce the bending moment of the shaft 24.

50 is a battery suitably supported by the backplate and having a lead wire 51 connecting one ofits terminals to one of the rails and having another Wire 52 connecting its other terminal to one brush of the motor 18. 53 is a wire connecting the other brush of the motor to the other rail. 54 is a switch connected intermediate of the length of the wire51 and enclosed in a suitable casing 54 for breaking the circuit and therefore causing the gate to open, when a train for some reason or other, "comes to a stop some distance before reaching the crossing and it is expedient to allow the traffic to proceed across the track. The wires 51Vand 53 are connected to the rails at a distance away from the crossing suflicient to allow the usual time to elapse before the oncoming train reaches the crossing; and, following the usual practice, a sectionof the track is isolated so as to form a unit with the ,cirouit.

Operation: As soon as the train has reached the section of the'track which forms a unit with the circuit, the circuit will be closed and themotor started. The rotation of the shaft 19, will cause the rotation of the gear 43 through the gear 27, and therefore rotate the shaft 35 and the drum 40.

As the shaft 20 rotates, the shaft 24 will also be rotated owing to the engagement of the gear 26 with the gear 38, and therefore slowly cause the gate bar to swing until the lever 33 has reached the limiting stop 34.

While the shaft 35 is rotated, the drum 40 will wind the cable and raise the weight 50. As soon as the train is past the highway, the circuit will be broken and the gate bar Will swing back to its normal position under the weight of 50, the arm 33 now bearingupon the limiting stop- 34. If in swinging, the

motion of the gate is arrested by an obstruction, such as an automobile being partly upon the'tracks, the gear 43 will slip upon the frictionpad 42 and as soon as the obstruction is removed,thebar will again resume 7 its swinging motion. As the clutch 23 is adaptedto rotate the shaft 20 withthe shaft 19 only when said shaft19 is rotated, it follows that when the motor stops, the shaft 35 is free "to rotate under the action of the weight 50, therefore causing the gate to automatically open.

What we claim is: V 4 1'. In a railway gate, a frame,'a' motor, a

spindle, a bar carried by said spindle, a

gear rigidly mounted uponsaid spindle, a long shaft arranged in parallel alignment with said spindle, a gear rigidly mounted upon said shaft and meshing with said firstmentioned gear, a friction disc rigidly secured upon said long shaft, a gear loosely mounted upon said long shaft and springheld against said friction disc, a short shaft in alignment with said spindle andthe motor shaft and lying therebetween, a clutch.

member interposed between the motor shaft and said short shaft adapted to operatively connect one with the other when the motor is rotating, a gear rigidly mounted upon said short shaft and meshing with said loosely mounted gear, and gravity operated means adapted for operating'said short shaft in a direction opposite to that of the-motor shaft.

2. In a railway gate, a frame, amotor and an electric circuit and battery, a verticallyarranged spindle, a horizontal bar carried by said spindle, a gear rigidly mounted upon said spindle, a long shaft arranged in parallel alignment with said spindle, a gear rigidly mounted on said shaft and meshing with said first-mentioned gear, a friction disc rigidly secured on said long shaft, a gear loosely mounted on said long shaft and springheld against said friction disc, a short shaft in vertical alignment with said spindie and the motor shaft and lying therebe- I tween, a clutch member interposed between the motor ed to operatively connect one to the other when the motor shaft is rotating, 2. gear shaft and said short shaft adapt- 1,666,982 I I a h rigidly mounted on said short shaft, and spindle, and adjustable means for limiting meshing with said loosely-mounted ear, a. the rotation of said spindle. 7 drum rigidly mounted on said long s aft, a Signed at Woodstock, Ontario, 'this 19th Weight slidable on vertically-arranged rods day of June, 1926. V

5 and a Wire connected to said Weight and V r v Wound around said drum, bearings secured a ROBERT STRICKLER. to said frame for mounting said shafts and JOHN HENRY MOJANNE'IT. 

